Smoldering Spirit
by Vezza Angel
Summary: He needed a nanny. She needed money. So, for now, they try to put aside their hate for each other. But what if...they fell in love? It's a classic plot with my own twists and turns in it!


**I throwing out fics left, right and center at the moment. But you're all so nice 2 me, despite how weird I am! :-) Thanks for that, u guys. Anyways, this is fic numero six. I had one review from LoveLoverGrl asking me to make the chapters longer. Well, here ya go, I tried my best. So, please review and subscribe! **

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><p>Chapter One<p>

"Mokuba?"

The raven-haired fifteen-year-old turned, to find himself staring into a pair of smoldering, hazel eyes.

"Tully?"

She grinned down at him, tucking a stray wisp of long, chocolate-brown hair behind her ear. "The one and only."

Mokuba smiled at his friend. "You look great."

"Now, now. Wouldn't want to make Rebecca jealous, would we?"

He blushed, grinning sheepishly.

"You know about that, huh?"

"Yep."

She hugged him gently, before placing her hands on his shoulders, holding him at arm's length, her eyes flicking up and down his figure.

"I don't like it," she said, frowning.

"Huh?"

"It's not fair," she sighed. "Joey's taller than me, Tristan's taller than me, Yugi's taller than me, and now you're taller than me. When you're 5.2 ft, everyone's taller than you. Even you're brother towers over me."

"But that doesn't stop you fighting with him every opportunity you get, despite the fact you're nineteen now," Mokuba teased.

"And he doesn't ask for it? I mean, he's so bossy and arrogant and-"

Mokuba couldn't help the small grin that spread across his face, despite how awkward this was. "Umm...Tully?"

"And, let's be brutally honest, he's a jerk in every sense of the-"

"Tully?"  
>"What?" She looked at him, and winced.<p>

"He's right behind me, isn't he?"

"Yes, I am." She turned around, and her eyes met icy blue. She sighed inwardly. It always had to happen to her, didn't it? The awkward and painful situations, they always happened to her. Just the other day, she'd accidentally walked under a ladder. If that wasn't a bad omen, she didn't know what was. Except, maybe, meeting Kaiba at Kaiba Corp's Summer Buisness Functioon. Mokuba had sent her an informal invitation via email, and she'd gladly welcomed the escape.

This was definitely the better out of the two options she had. She had a choice of either coming here, or going with Joey and Tristan to a nightclub downtown, watch them flirt with girls, get smashed out of their brains, and end up in Domino General's A & E room because they fell out of a tree into the way of an 7 tonne lorry. As much as Joey and Tristan loved to tease her and wind her up, she would have pushed them out of the way of the lorry (assuming she hadn't pushed them in the way in the first place).

So, she had unwillingly shoved her body into the knee-length, royal purple dress that had been sitting at the back of her wardrobe for almost a year (it'd been a birthday present from Mai, who insisted she would look wonderful in it, despite the fact she hated anything with a skirt) twisted her hair in a bun, hailed a cab, and came here, looking forward to seeing the younger Kaiba two days before Christmas Day.

Knowing that his older brother would be here had put her a bit on edge. She was out of her comfort zone at the moment, with wearing a dress and all, and, given the fact that she hated Kaiba, it was bound to make her feel slightly uncomfortable. Just slightly. But in the end the confident, boisterous, and mischeivous side of her personality had taken over. And here she was. When she zoned in again, Kaiba was now talking to Mokuba and ignoring her completely, which only pissed her off. He always did though, so it didn't really make a difference.

"What's the half-pint doing here, Mokuba?"

"I was invited, Your Arrogance."

"Funny. I didn't think dwarves were part of my guest list."

She growled at him. "I swear," she thought angrily, "if I was in jeans, I would've kicked his sorry-"

"What, out of comebacks already, Shumo?"

"No. Just wondering if there's a comeback out there that'll pierce that sarcasm-proof lair your ego dwells in."

He sneered at her. "And I'm wondering what mind Mokuba was in when he thought about inviting you here. It's obvious you're out of your league, Shumo."

Mokuba sighed. "Good to see the four years we haven't been in touch haven't changed you, Tully."

Tully turned to face him, her mood seeming to brighten. Inwardly, she was still fuming at Kaiba, but it was easier to focus on his adorable younger brother. She'd find a means for revenge later, when he was giving a speech, maybe, or talking to one of his "very important" clients.

To Mokuba, she said, "And would I ever disappoint you and change, Mokuba?"

Mokuba grinned as a fast beat started up. "No. Now, if I may be so bold, can I have this dance, Miss Shumo?"

She curtseyed, and Mokuba blushed. "Of course you may," she said, her tone slightly teasing. And dance they did, for the next hour and a half. Mokuba, it turned out, was an amazing dancer with a great sense of rhythm. Tully enjoyed herself, and they both staggered off the dancefloor out of breath, and giggling like a pair of five-year-olds on a sugar high.

After that, they went and found Rebecca Hawkins, Mokuba's girlfriend and granddaughter of Professer Hawkins, a renowned archaeologist. Mokuba adored his girlfriend, and vice versa, though when Tully had met her during the Orichalcos incident, and again in Kaiba's KC Grand Prix, she'd never seemed like the romantic type, with the exception of Yugi Muto, one of Tully's best friends, along with Joey, Tristan, Tea, and a whole group of others. But Tully was glad they were happy together.

She had seen what a forced relationship could do to people. She still believed in true love and all that kind of stuff (as mushy as it was), but the memories of those times were still extremely painful. Thinking about her friends made her smile. Yugi, Joey, Tristan and she had made it into Domino University, and Tea had made it into her dream school, Julliard, one of the most famous dance school in America. She saw the guys every day, but Yugi missed Tea a lot. If you ever asked him about it though, he always blushed pink and denied it.

"So, Tully, what are you majoring in? Mokuba said you started Domino University last fall. Can you believe it's almost the end of term already?"

She shook herself. "Well, I'm doing Computer Science at the-"

That was when feedback screeched across the hall. They all turned to see Roland standing on stage, looking quite awkward and a little out of place.

"If I may have your attention," he said,"Mr Kaiba would like to thank you all for attending this function. We hope you have had an excellent time, and ceased the opportunity to make new acquaintances. That is all for this year. You have my sincere thanks."

She looked around at Mokuba. "Has it really ended already?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Big Brother has some work for an important buisness deal to do before tomorrow."

She sighed. "Well then, I guess that's that. See ya later, kiddo."

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><p><strong>Done! Yay! Anyway, I'm glad that those of u who read Heart Of The Ice Chapter Four like your Valentine's Day present! It was fun writing it for u! And thanks 2 all of u for bein' so patient with me. Yeah, but at the moment, I got a really bad cold :-( which stinks (or it would, except my nose is blocked up), but it means I get to spend more time working on my fics while I heal. Anyway, all flames'll be turned into marshmallows! <strong>

**TTFN, **

**Vezza Angel **


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